Law: the expert view + Insurance | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/law/series/law-the-expert-view+money/insurance
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Will the legal aid bill be the end of the ambulance-chasing lawyer? | Jon Robinshttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/apr/25/legal-aid-bill-end-ambulance-chasing-lawyers
For all the scaremongering about a compensation culture, ignorance of rights causes more harm than the bringing of unmeritorious legal claims<p>How do you explain a sprawling legislative monster like the <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/legalaidsentencingandpunishmentofoffenders.html" title="">legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill</a> (LASPO)? More often than not, commentators invoke the spectre of the compensation culture and reach for a clich&eacute;.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice itself tells us that the legal aid bill will &quot;<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/mar/03/legal-aid-reforms-face-defeat" title="">save &pound;350m and end an ambulance-chasing culture that taxpayers cannot afford</a>&quot;. &quot;Whenever you hear of a stupid case of 'health and safety' dictatorship, it's these people - not 'human rights' or 'political correctness' - who are to blame,&quot; fumed Peter Hitchens last year in a characteristically intemperate attack on '<a href="http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2011/07/just-text-claim-then-give-these-vultures-both-barrels.html" title="">a new caste of greedy, cynical ambulance-chasing lawyers</a>'. &quot;That's why councils ban cheese-rolling festivals and veterans' parades.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/apr/25/legal-aid-bill-end-ambulance-chasing-lawyers">Continue reading...</a>LawInsurance industryBusinessInsuranceMoneyLegal aidUK newsJack StrawPoliticsWed, 25 Apr 2012 16:44:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/apr/25/legal-aid-bill-end-ambulance-chasing-lawyersMichael Kemp / Alamy/AlamyThe MoJ claims the legal aid bill will 'save £350m and end an ambulance-chasing culture that taxpayers cannot afford' Photograph: Michael Kemp / Alamy/AlamyMichael Kemp/Alamy/Public DomainThe party ends with a punch - and a trip to hospital in an ambulance ambulance Photograph: Michael Kemp/AlamyJon Robins2012-04-25T16:44:42ZJonathan Djanogly: moribund in a dead end job? | Neil Rosehttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/jonathan-djanogly-minister-justice-law
Junior justice ministers aren't often going places, but this one might be speeding towards the exit<p>Following the stream of revelations about Jonathan Djanogly's financial interests, there is speculation he will lose his job in the next reshuffle. Being a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and its predecessors has not often been a great route to political advancement. There have been a few exceptions in recent years who in time progressed to the cabinet, like Geoff Hoon and Yvette Cooper, but it is generally a low-profile appointment.</p><p>So the likelihood of Djanogly progressing far in government was not great anyway, but the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/18/minister-failed-to-register-firm" title="">apparent conflict of interest</a> recently revealed – allied to the not-forgotten furore last year over his <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/10/mp-detectives-leaks-expenses-jonathan-djanogly" title="">use of private detectives</a> to investigate colleagues – has certainly not helped. Just as well, perhaps, that he has always given the impression of being pretty chuffed with his current job.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/jonathan-djanogly-minister-justice-law">Continue reading...</a>Jonathan DjanoglyPoliticsLegal aidUK newsLawAlternative Business StructuresInsuranceMoneyFri, 21 Oct 2011 13:57:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/jonathan-djanogly-minister-justice-lawRex Features/Rex FeaturesJonathan Djanogly has had a bumpy ride piloting legal reforms. Photograph: Rex FeaturesRex Features/Rex FeaturesJonathan Djanogly has had a bumpy ride piloting legal reforms. Photograph: Rex FeaturesNeil Rose2011-10-21T13:57:39ZCharity helps riot victims get their lives back | Alex Aldridgehttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/charity-helps-riot-victims-lives
Riot Help is a scheme that matches up those who can't afford to pay for legal advice with City lawyers working pro bono<p>&quot;Utterly shocking and wholly inexcusable,&quot; <a href="http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/media/judgments/2011/blackshaw-others-judgment-18102011" title="">declared</a> the court of appeal on Tuesday as it <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/18/riots-lengthy-sentences-upheld-appeal-court" title="">upheld the sentences</a> handed down to rioters. Labour peer Baron Alli, on the other hand, reckons the difference between &quot;a free pair of trainers and a banker's bonus is … four years in jail for the person with the trainers&quot;. But as the debate about the courts' response to the events of early August rumbles on, the plight of the riots' victims continues to be largely ignored.</p><p>&quot;What do you do if your house was burnt down or your business premises looted? How do you continue to pay your mortgage [or] your rent?&quot; asks LawWorks, the legal charity, which last month set up a service to help individuals and small businesses whose lives were turned upside down by the riots.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/charity-helps-riot-victims-lives">Continue reading...</a>Pro bonoSentencingLawUK riots 2011CharitiesUK newsInsuranceMoneyVoluntary sectorFri, 21 Oct 2011 08:06:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/oct/21/charity-helps-riot-victims-livesLeon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesMany riot victims' claims were unexpectedly rejected by insurance companies. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesLeon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesMany riot victims' claims were unexpectedly rejected by insurance companies. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesAlex Aldridge2011-10-21T08:06:57ZBanning referral fees won't put the brakes on the personal injury industry | Neil Rosehttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/sep/16/banning-referral-fees-personal-injury
Politicians' attempts to stop the 'self-serving merry-go-round' driven by motor accident claims are unlikely to be effective<p>The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/may/14/referral-fees-ban-solicitors" title="">referral fee merry-go-round</a> will soon grind to a halt. That, at least, is the intention of the Ministry of Justice, which last week bowed to calls from Lord Justice Jackson and Jack Straw to <a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/features/feature-090911a.htm" title="">announce a ban</a> on referral fees in personal injury cases.</p><p>Where motor accidents lead to a legal claim for damages, the injured person usually finds their way to a solicitor through a middleman, often a claims management company (CMC) or insurer, who receives a generous fee for the introduction.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/sep/16/banning-referral-fees-personal-injury">Continue reading...</a>SolicitorsCar insuranceInsuranceAlternative Business StructuresLawMoneyMotoringJack StrawPoliticsFri, 16 Sep 2011 12:03:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/sep/16/banning-referral-fees-personal-injuryStefan Wermuth/ReutersJack Straw, who has led a campaign against referral fees and said he wished he had banned claims management companies as justice secretary. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/ReutersStefan Wermuth/ReutersJack Straw, who has led a campaign against referral fees and said he wished he had banned claims management companies as justice secretary. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/ReutersNeil Rose2011-09-16T12:03:55ZWhy big brand legal services are bad news for solicitorshttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/nov/02/aa-saga-legal-services-solicitors
As the AA and Saga launch online portals, more than half of law firms say they expect to lose work to non-lawyer competitors<p>Is it time for solicitors to panic? The significance of the announcement that the AA and Saga <a href="http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/aa-and-saga-launch-legal-services-websites-aimed-at-middle-england" title="">have launched legal services websites</a> is less in what they are offering but in the fact that they are the latest big brands to see potential in the legal market.</p><p>The AA actually dipped its toe in the water some time ago, while the Halifax and Which? are already in there and the Co-operative group, which has built a &pound;20m legal business over four years.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/nov/02/aa-saga-legal-services-solicitors">Continue reading...</a>LawBusinessInsurance industryConsumer spendingInsuranceSolicitorsTue, 02 Nov 2010 14:26:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/nov/02/aa-saga-legal-services-solicitorsBarry Batchelor/PAThe AA have recently launched an online legal service portal. Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PABarry Batchelor/PAThe AA have recently launched an online legal service portal. Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PANeil Rose2010-11-02T14:26:15ZLegal aid must not be replaced with 'no win, no fee' dealshttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/sep/03/legal-aid-no-win-no-fee-adam-smith-institute
Legal aid is flawed but access to justice must not be left to the whim of the free market<p>&quot;Roughed up by the police on Saturday night? If so, ring us for 'no win, no fee' advice ...&quot; In recent years, we have become all too familiar with crass ads run by claims companies and lawyers trying to drum up cases run on &quot;no win, no fee&quot;, or conditional fee agreements (CFAs), to use the technical term.</p><p>So far, such arrangements have been largely restricted to routine accident claims; however a <a href="http://www.adamsmith.org/publications/justice-and-civil-liberties/access-to-justice%3a-balancing-the-risks/" title="">new paper</a> from the free-market thinktank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) proposes that legal aid be scrapped in crucial areas of legal advice – clinical negligence, actions against the police, education and housing disrepair.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/sep/03/legal-aid-no-win-no-fee-adam-smith-institute">Continue reading...</a>Legal aidInsuranceLawFri, 03 Sep 2010 12:37:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/sep/03/legal-aid-no-win-no-fee-adam-smith-instituteJon Robins2010-09-03T12:37:00ZInsurers' new code may add insult to personal injury lawyers | Neil Rosehttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jun/15/personal-injury-claims-solicitors-insurers
Insurance firms have developed tactics to marginalise solicitors in settling claims, intensifying further an already bitter debate<p>Personal injury lawyers and insurers are not the greatest of friends. Lawyers often see insurers as obstructive and just trying to weasel out of paying. Insurers see lawyers as equally obstructive and just trying to squeeze as much money as they can for themselves out of the compensation process.</p><p>The stakes are big. Amid the smoke and mirrors of the debate over whether there is a compensation culture (and all the facts indicate that actually there is not), there are hundreds of thousands of claims every year for minor injuries suffered in car crashes, accidents at work and the like. Insurers are always quick to warn that the multimillion-pound cost is ultimately borne by policyholders through their premiums.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jun/15/personal-injury-claims-solicitors-insurers">Continue reading...</a>LawInsuranceConsumer affairsMoneyUK newsSolicitorsTue, 15 Jun 2010 08:00:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jun/15/personal-injury-claims-solicitors-insurersLinda Nylind/GuardianLetters from accident claims companies regarding a personal injury compensation claim. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianLinda Nylind/GuardianLetters from accident claims companies regarding a personal injury compensation claim. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianNeil Rose2010-06-15T08:00:44ZLegal insurance: will Britain buy it?http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/may/28/legal-insurance-uk-germany
In Germany there's a thriving market in selling legal insurance policies, but Britons have yet to see the benefits<p></p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/may/28/legal-insurance-uk-germany">Continue reading...</a>LawInsurance industryBusinessInsuranceMoneyLegal aidFri, 28 May 2010 11:48:40 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/may/28/legal-insurance-uk-germanyJon Robins2010-05-28T11:48:40Z